ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995 TAG: 9512280072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER NOTE: Above
TWO MEMBERS of Patrick Henry High School's 1992 championship basketball team will have a Roanoke homecoming in tonight's sold-out game between Tech and UVa.
The itinerary Curtis Staples pored over didn't look much different from any other road game for the Virginia basketball team.
It seemed a familiar listing of departure times, arrival times, practice times. Then he spotted the destination: Roanoke.
This isn't just another road trip for Staples. When the Cavaliers play Virginia Tech tonight at 7 before a sellout crowd at the Roanoke Civic Center, it will mark the first time Staples has played an organized basketball game in his hometown in nearly four years.
Even though he has known since enrolling at Virginia he would be playing against the Hokies in Roanoke this season, it didn't occur to him until last week that he was coming home tonight.
``It snuck up on me,'' said Staples, a sophomore shooting guard. ``Last week, when they were handing out the itinerary, it sunk in. It said, `Arrive in Roanoke ...' and I thought, `This is home.' I hadn't really thought about it until then.''
Staples hasn't played a game in Roanoke since 1992, when he helped lead Patrick Henry High School to the Group AAA championship as a 10th-grader, then made the shocking decision to transfer to a private school.
Troy Manns, one of Staples' former Patrick Henry teammates, hasn't played in Roanoke in four years, either. Manns will be on the floor tonight in a Hokies uniform.
``Curtis and I were working out together last summer at the [Central Branch] YMCA, and we were talking about Tech versus Virginia,'' said Manns, a junior point guard. ``A buddy of ours said, `Yeah, that game's in Roanoke this year.' That makes it a big deal.''
Both players have taken winding routes back to their hometown. Staples attended two private schools before going to Virginia, and Manns played two seasons at George Mason University before transferring to Tech.
Staples, one of the most highly prized high school guards in the country, left Roanoke the summer after that championship season to attend St. John's at Prospect Hall in Fredericksburg, Md. After one season, he transferred to Oak Hill, the basketball factory in Mouth of Wilson that produces some of the nation's best players.
He left Roanoke because he believed the national prominence of a St. John's or an Oak Hill would help him get recruited by major colleges. Things worked out that way, although many in Roanoke thought Staples would have been highly recruited even if he had stayed at Patrick Henry, which was ranked No.12 nationally in 1992.
``I think most people didn't like my decision then,'' said Staples, who hopes that any resentment by Roanoke fans has softened over the past four years.
``I hope that most people have gotten over it. I did what was best. I think people [in Roanoke] will pull for me and Troy. ... I'm thrilled to be coming back here. It's a big game for me, but it's a bigger game for our team, because we haven't been playing well.''
Manns was the starting point guard for a couple of lackluster squads at George Mason before deciding to transfer closer to home. He chose Tech despite the fact the Hokies did not have a scholarship for him.
He took a redshirt season (in which the NCAA allows a player to attend classes but not play a sport without losing a year of athletic eligibility) and waited for a scholarship. He received one after two players left school, and has played in all five games for the Hokies this season.
``I was a big Virginia fan,'' said Manns. ``I liked [former Cavalier guard] Cory Alexander. Now, I'm looking forward to beating those guys.''
A packed house of 9,996 fans is expected to watch the No. 21 Hokies play the No. 22 Cavaliers. Approximately 40 of Staples' family and friends will be in the throng. ``So many people I know will be there, I can't even count them,'' Manns said.
``Most of the crowd might be a little more for Tech,'' Staples said. ``For the most part, they'll probably be pretty neutral [about] me.''
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. UVa's Curtis Staples was a sophomoreby CNBon Patrick Henry's state championship team in 1992. 2. GENE
DALTON/Staff. Troy Manns, a guard at Patrick Henry, now plays in the
Virginia Tech backcourt. color.